Legandary SEGA designer Yu Suzuki is set to leave his current role with Amusement Research and Development division, and has confirmed that he shall remain at SEGA in an advisory role from this September. He will continue to work on his personal company, YS Net. Speaking to Gamasutra, Suzuki said the following:
“In 2008 I established YS NET, my current company,” he said. “I’ll be leaving my current job at Sega this September, and after that point I’ll remain on as an advisor.”
“So I’ve formally been with both companies from 2008 until September 2011. With the new company, I’ve been doing pretty much what I personally want to do myself,”
The interview itself is fairly long and gives another great insight into what the man has been doing and what he may go on to do. It is well worth a read for anyone interested in Suzuki and his thoughts, not only on his time at SEGA but also the industry in general.
[Interview: Gamasutra]
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Depressing.
It's a shame, but really, he hasn't done much recently in that position. It's not like he was going to make Shenmue 3 or some big new console IP in that role. The man's still doing work, and some of it is with SEGA, so it's all good. 🙂
this is for the best.
the way sega treated yu suzuki is just shameless
Bummer but maybe now that he's a little more free from his duties at SEGA, maybe he can do something now.
It is not too surprising to see what situation Yu Suzuki is in, the bad thing about this industry is that if you slip up just once, you can find yourself in a most undesirable situation. SEGA, Nintendo, Capcom etc happens at them all, is still a great shame it happens but unfortunately.
Good luck to the great man, I hope SEGA can see the potential he has and supply him with the tools he needs.
I love Yu Suzuki but he had more than one slip up.
– Shenmue Financial Bomb
– Shenmue Online Managerial Disaster
– Psy-Phi Untested Disaster
– SEGA RACE TV ignorable
That said, the current managment at SEGA SAMMY still sucks.
This is really not going to change much, he is still working WITH SEGA. If a big enough project was greenlit, I am sure he would be there the whole way.
Plus, he is getting pretty old and could not stay there forever. I wish him the best.
Oh well. Did anyone really think Shenmue III was coming? I'm sure he and his company will fade into obscurity with cheap cellphone and web games the same way Prope and Yuki Naka essentially has.
Its sad because the new blood just isn't really there. Today's games are lacking in vision and innovation.
"That said, the current managment at SEGA SAMMY still sucks."
You can say it loud, Cube!